There are several types of driver assistance systems used in today's vehicles. These systems use forward sensors to control a vehicle and/or provide feedback or warnings based on objects in the vehicle's path. Passive driver assistance systems provide feedback or warnings to a driver but do not directly control the vehicle. An example of a passive driver assistance system is a forward collision warning system which warns a driver that an object is present in front of the vehicle, but requires that the driver, not the system, operate the vehicle so as to avoid a collision. The warning or feedback features of passive driver assistance systems may optionally be disabled, even while the passive driver assistance system continues to collect data regarding driving conditions. On the other hand, active driver assistance systems not only provide warnings but also actively control the vehicle. Examples of active driver assistance systems include adaptive cruise control and adaptive cruise control with a stop and go feature.
Adaptive cruise control, sometimes referred to as active cruise control, automatically reduces the vehicle's speed when a slower vehicle appears in the lane ahead to ensure that the cruise controlled vehicle is at a safe following distance. The adaptive cruise control system will accelerate the vehicle back to its set cruise control speed when the lane becomes free or the distance between the two vehicles increases to the safe following distance. An adaptive cruise control system with a stop and go feature will apply the vehicle's brakes until the vehicle comes to a stop (if necessary) before allowing the vehicle to go off again when the traffic ahead moves.
A forward collision warning system is a safety system designed to reduce the severity of an accident. These systems use radar and sometimes laser sensors to detect an imminent crash. Depending on how the system is implemented, the system may warn the driver, precharge the brakes, inflate seats for extra support, move the passenger seat, position head rests to avoid whip lash, tension seat belts and/or automatically apply braking to minimize impact.
Current driver assistance systems use static tunings for the vehicle control thresholds and warnings. This means that the driver is locked-in to the vehicle's available tuning selections, which may be limited and may not satisfy all drivers. Accordingly, there is a need and desire for a driver assistance system and method that are tunable for a specific driver of the vehicle.